Leave Me In Ruins

Barely

Stiles held a hand up telling Lydia to stay where she was. He carefully stepped forward as if he expected the body to come alive like one of those Zombie movies he used to stay up too late watching.

He leaned over to see the face of the person, a silent prayer going up that it wasn't someone they knew. The dead eyes of a stranger stared up at him, his pale lips stained in blood. A large spot of underbrush next to them was caked in drying blood. Stiles felt bad at the relief that hit him.

"Who is it?" Lydia asked, taking a half step forward and then thinking better of it. She hated finding the dead bodies.

"I don't know, but we should—" Stiles cut off. He swore he felt a tug on his back, but when he turned, there was no one there.

"Stiles?" Lydia called.

The tugging continued. It was like a tether, pulling him towards something. It moved to his side and then his front, like someone tugging on a rope tied around his waist.

"Stiles, what are you doing?" Lydia hissed as he took a step forward, away from her.

"There's... something," Stiles said following the pull. Maybe if he followed it, he'd find what he was looking for. What was he looking for? Adrian? The person who did this?

"Stiles," Lydia snapped, following after him.

Stiles didn't stop though. His feet carried him further into the woods. The pull dragged him closer. Closer to what, he didn't know. But he was going to find out.

"Stiles, stop, where are you going?" Lydia clomped through the underbrush after him, trying to catch up.

Stiles followed the pull, letting it lead him deeper into the woods until—

Lydia, who had caught up to him finally, grabbed his wrist as they both stopped. The nemeton stood in front of them, seven bodies laid at the base.

Stiles stumbled forward, pulling from Lydia's grasp. His knees dug into the soft earth next to a still, cold Adrian.

"Please, please, please," Stiles begged quietly as he turned Adrian to face him. His hands cupped his icy cheeks. "Adrian," he pleaded for the man to open his eyes. He looked lifeless. Pale, unmoving, so cold. Tears sprung to Stiles' eyes. "No, no, no, no," he begged as if it would do any good.

"We found it." Stiles heard Lydia's voice behind him. He glanced over to see she was on the phone. Stiles' plan had worked, but what good did it do? Everyone was dead.

He pulled Adrian into him, letting the tears fall. This was his fault. It should have been him. A gentle tickle on Stiles' ear made him rear back. Had that been a breath? Hope swelled in him like a wave, ready to wash him to shore or drag him under.

Stiles pressed his fingers to Adrian's neck, feeling for a pulse. He waited, but there was nothing. His jaw clenched. He was being foolish. But then he felt it. A soft thump under his touch. Was it just his imagination? He placed his ear to Adrian's chest and listened, his eyes clenched shut, waiting, hoping. It was slow, too slow, but there was a heartbeat. A relieved sob ripped from his chest.

"Your dad and the pack are on their way," Lydia said, gently placing a hand on Stiles' back.

"He's alive, but barely. Check the others," Stiles sniffed, wiping at his tears.

Lydia carefully checked each body while Stiles held Adrian close, trying to warm him. It reminded Stiles of the time he tried to hold onto his melting snowman as the warm sun bore down on it. He had been six at the time and didn't understand why his snowman couldn't stay forever. Now he wondered why he had to keep losing people he cared about. But there was no scientific explanation about the warmth of the sun's rays evaporating the snow. It was just the cruelty of the world striking once again.

"There's another one," Lydia called from the other side of the nemeton.

"Try and keep her warm."

"Stiles? Lydia?" Scott's voice called from behind them.

"Scott." Stiles wiped at a few more tears.

"That was fast." Lydia frowned as the pack emerged from the woods.

"We followed you," Derek said as if it was obvious.

"Stiles," Noah ran over, kneeling next to him.

"He's alive, but barely."

"Adrian?" Noah asked.

Stiles nodded, wiping at a falling tear.

"We need to get him to the hospital." Noah peeled off his jacket, wrapping it around the freezing man in Stiles' arms.

"What? No. We need to get him to Deaton," Stiles objected.

"I already called Melissa, we'll handle it there."

"But—"

"How are you going to explain to him what happened when he wakes up on a vet's table?" Noah asked.

Stiles swallowed but nodded. He knew his dad was right.

"Your plan worked," Derek put a comforting hand on Stiles' shoulder, hoping he would take solace in that fact. Much to his surprise, Stiles buried his head in Derek's chest.

Stiles didn't care if anyone questioned it. He needed Derek. He felt like he was falling apart, and the one person that could keep him together was Derek.

Derek held Stiles close, running a hand down his back gently.

"There's another here," Lydia said as Boyd scooped up the girl in Lydia's arms. "She's somewhat responsive."

Stiles pulled away from Derek, collecting himself as best he could. "The rest are..." He trailed off as he looked at the bodies scattered at the base of the trunk. He wondered which of these was Kyle's sister.

"There was a dead body back from where we came from too," Lydia said.

"We saw him," Scott nodded. Isaac is with him.

"No, please," The girl in Boyd's arms whined.

"Get her out of here," Noah demanded. "Stiles, take my car, get these two to the hospital, lights, and sirens. I'll wait here for backup." he handed Adrian to Derek and fished out his keys.

As Stiles went to walk away, he felt that tug pull at him again. He paused and, for the first time, noticed the two-foot sprig growing out of the middle of the trunk.

"Stiles, what are you doing?" Boyd asked when Stiles walked back to the nemeton.

Stiles reached out and wrapped his hand around the stem, and with a hard yank, ripped the roots from it. He tossed it aside. The pull diminished, leaving a cold spot in his chest. "Let's go," he growled. He hoped that whoever had worked so hard to grow that was pissed when he saw it.

Derek and Boyd followed Stiles back to the waiting cars with Adrian and the girl.

*AN*
Hope you like it! 😊💚